'Take Your Pills' Reminders From Apps and Gadgets

Americans pay a high price for not taking their meds. One in five patients fails to fill new prescriptions, and half of those being treated for chronic conditions stop their medications after six months, according to the National Institutes of Health. These lapses result in additional treatments and hospital stays that cost as much as $289 billion a year, according to NEHI, a Cambridge (Mass.) health policy group. On top of the expense, missed doses cost an estimated 125,000 U.S. lives a year.

Under the Affordable Care Act, some health-care providers will be reimbursed on the basis of treatment outcomes rather than the number of procedures. So a clinic has a greater incentive to make sure its diabetes patients control their blood sugar and don’t end up in the emergency room. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 48 percent of Americans use at least one prescription drug, and 10 percent take at least five.